Jody Rallah is a descendant of the Biri Gubba, Yuggera and Warangu peoples of the Brisbane and Bowen regions in Queensland. Rallah is an Indigenous Australian artist who works across object making, sculptural installation, painting, sound and performance. Rallah carefully considers the language and aliveness of materiality to engage with conversations spanning between generations. Her processes of making focus on a breaking down of ‘then’ and ‘now’ principals to address the idea of living histories; encompassed through a ‘nowing’ to create experiences that connect to Country and community. In 2020 Rallah was a participant in the Hatched: National Graduate Show, at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). In 2021 she held a solo exhibition called Echos at Milani CARPARK Gallery. She has exhibited throughout Brisbane Galleries, including OneSpace, Outerspace, Metro Arts, several hospitals and more. She has been a panelist for Metro Arts and her work has been discussed in Vault Magazine and the Journal of Australian Ceramics 2021. Rallah a New Columbo Plan and Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art (CAIA) Alumni and an active member of the Digi Youth Arts (DYA).
What does Hatched mean to you?
Collaboration and consideration were core to what I experienced when participating in Hatched 2020. The curators, staff and community went above and beyond to bring my project to life in the space. In 2019, I set out to create an artwork involving a community practice, with a goal to collaborate across as many different Indigenous Language Nations as possible. Hatched gave me the opportunity to connect with people on the other side of the continent and brought me closer to this cross Country collaboration goal. The artwork I submitted for Hatched included a significant sand element to honor our lore and the Country which the work resided on (Noongar Country). The team involved (with special thanks to Miranda Johnson, PICA staff, Sharyn Egan and Elders) collaborated with local Elders to respectfully source Noongar sand with permissions obtained and cultural protocols and ceremony followed. This was an integral element of the artwork and was important to me an Indigenous woman. PICA staff and community in collaboration with myself paid great attention to the detail of the installation, from pre-arrival to the installing, all through the challenges of the COVID pandemic. I felt supported by the team and community involved and am grateful for their outstanding efforts which made it happen. This experience gave my work a place to connect with more people; it saw the artwork featured in the Journal of Australian Ceramics and an extension of the artwork is in development to become a permanent installation in Perth. Most importantly, being a Hatched participant has given me the chance to connect with a remarkable community!
